ARK: Survival Evolved

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ARK: Survival Evolved

by Mikhail May 5, 2021 | 1 Votes | 42 Played | 0 Reviews

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Genres:

RPG , Adventure

Graphics:

3D

Labels:

Sandbox Game , Survival , Dinosaurs

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Studio Wildcard Ark: Survival Evolved is a survival adventure game set in a mysterious land filled with dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures. Team up with other players to share resources enough to build settlements and craft items to survive. Hunt and tame dinosaurs and ride them into battle! Play Now Similar Games Played Post a Review

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Summary Gameplay Community Graphics/Sound Conclusion

Summary

Well, Studio Wildcard did something never thought possible by porting Ark: Survival Evolved to mobile, and surprisingly, it’s a decent port.

In a nutshell, this game is an adventure-survival sandbox filled with dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures. You’ll wake up in a dangerous world with some sort of a device implanted in your arm, and you have to harvest materials, craft items, and construct buildings to survive and ultimately thrive in its world. Yes, it’s full of tree-punching, penguin-slaughtering action, and the absurd yet hilarious and somewhat unique dino-riding mechanic.

Ark is silly yet addicting once you get into it. However, is this mobile port of an enormous sandbox game be something you’d want to add to your mobile library? Before you hit the download button, let’s take a look at what it offers.

Gameplay

First off, Ark: Survival Evolved is a full port of the PC and console versions just with mobile controls and downgraded graphics. To be honest, it feels like playing a technological marvel, considering that porting a game with a vast world and many intricacies on a device that fits the palm of your hand is not an easy feat. That aside, given that it’s a full port, all of the PC and console versions’ features are there for you to dive into.

Ark’s character creation is quite silly, as you can create a strange deformed human being that doesn’t look like one. On a more serious note, this aspect exposes you to the game’s microtransaction elements since some customization parts sit behind a paywall. Nevertheless, you’ll have enough options to make your character look unique enough.

If this is your first foray to Ark, we highly recommend going through the single-player tutorial first before heading into the online lobbies. If you do the latter right away, your character will wake up on the island and wouldn’t know what to do right away. The touchscreen controls are quite difficult to get used to, and although the movement and looking around elements are smooth, the tap and hold parts are far from precise. There were instances where I ended up punching a prehistoric penguin instead of the tree next to it. Combat uses auto-aim, which is useful, especially when going up against a pteranodon. Also, note that you can switch from first-person to third-person view.

You can access various menus and crafting pages by scrolling, which you’ll do a lot when you start building structures. With that said, the construction aspect is a massive part of the game, and though you’re capable of making megastructures like in the console and PC versions, it’ll be a tough grind here. You’ll also spend hours gathering resources and crafting, and finding the needed materials to create stronger gear for both you and your tamed dinosaurs. The construction aspect feels rather inconsistent since there are occasions wherein pieces snap into place seamlessly and other instances that can drive you a little crazy.

Plus, consider that ARK: Survival Evolved eats away your phone’s battery like how a herd of compsognathus devours a dead brachiosaurus, after half an hour of playing, your device will get a little hot, which means you may need to cut your sessions now and then.

The game is F2P, but there’s an optional Primal Pass service for $4 a month that offers features including increased XP, free items, and dedicated servers for subscribers.

Community

Currently, hundreds of players populate ARK: Survival Evolved’s many servers. You can choose between a PvE server, where you can just explore and enjoy the world, or a PvP one where you fight and kill other players and their dinosaurs. Each server has a chat room, so it’ll be easy to talk to other inhabitants. Meanwhile, there’s no cross-platform play between mobile players and those on PC and consoles.

Graphics/Sound

ARK: Survival Evolved looks relatively decent on an iPhone 8 Plus on high settings in terms of presentation. Though the framerate is capped at 30 frames per second, it’s playable enough for those who dove into the game on other versions. The draw distance is reasonably far and when compared to the PC and console versions, you’ll notice a substantial downgrade, yet it holds its own well enough.

Conclusion

Overall, ARK: Survival Evolved is a rather challenging game to play on mobile, but it’s a well-made port of one of the most significant games in the adventure survival sandbox space. It’ll be hard to craft thousands of materials and resources to build megastructures seen on other platforms, but you can get this done if you want to.

All in all, Ark’s mobile version is for people who want to try out the game or those who just don’t have the time or effort to play on other platforms. It looks good enough to provide a picturesque adventure in a world filled with dinosaurs and environmental hazards. Still, it’s not for everyone, especially players who are looking for a five-minute distraction while waiting in line inside a crowded grocery store.